August 12, 2026 --  Aquark Technologies, alongside the Royal Navy, Saab UK, Qinetiq and DSTL, successfully completed a UK trial, working with a Royal Navy ship’s radar system to give accurate navigation information. The trial demonstrates the benefits of integrating quantum-based time servers with two networked radars to maintain a coherent operational picture in GNSS-denied environments.

The trial took place in June 2026 using radars at Saab and Qinetiq sites with the Royal Navy’s experimentation ship XV Patrick Blackett and DSTL acting as network rebroadcast nodes. It is the third trial carried out by Aquark in partnership with the Royal Navy and is a world-first demonstration of a distributed high-performance military radar network maintaining a coherent operational picture using timing sources independent from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

New concepts of atomic clock operation explored

A time server is a device automatically serving other network elements with information on the time of day. Time servers are essential in modern defence and civilian infrastructure, as they synchronise clocks across computers, networks, financial markets, and security systems such as encryption keys and multi-factor authentication. Ensuring continuous, accurate and reliable time alignment is therefore critical to infrastructure resilience. 

The UK government has put the cost of GNSS outages, which cause disruption to civilian security, aviation, shipping, and financial markets, at £1.42 billion over 24 hours, or £7.64 billion across 7 days. Meanwhile, jamming and spoofing incidents have been climbing steadily in conflict-adjacent regions, with a recent investigation, built on research from the University of Texas, tracing years of unexplained GNSS blackouts across Europe to a constellation of Russian early-warning satellites. It has therefore become necessary for the defence and security industry to demonstrate that their sensor systems can operate even in the absence of GNSS signals. 

The purpose of this trial was to demonstrate the integration of a “quantum-based time server”, a device augmented with frequency information from a cold-atom clock, such as the AQlock, with Saab’s Giraffe 1X operational radar system for the Royal Navy’s Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office (DCTO). 

The trial used cooperative radars, which enhance situational awareness by coordinating multiple sensors. This cooperation was enabled in part by the timing technologies – in this case, the two AQlocks. 

By decoupling the cooperative radars from GNSS-delivered timing, the trial provided an opportunity to explore new concepts of sensor operation. It also provided a reference time independent of GNSS availability, allowing for better situational awareness and positioning information within a contested PNT area.

“This trial is a milestone in the development of UK sovereign quantum technology and a first-of-its-kind application of a UK atomic clock. It’s the first known time that a pair of British built cold atom systems has been deployed in answer to a genuine defence challenge, and we’re very proud to work with Saab and the Royal Navy in this way,” said Matthew Aldous, Timing Lead at Aquark Technologies

Technical outcomes

1. Two AQlock 2.0 were delivered to two geographically separate locations and started “from cold” to an acceptable timing signal in less than 30 minutes.
2. Two operational radar systems were able to create a single, accurate air picture depending solely on AQlock for their timing, mimicking representative GNSS-denied and GNSS-spoofed conditions.
3. The trial demonstrated predictable performance degradation under timing disruption, and rapid recovery when synchronisation was re-established.
4. This capability provides operators a coherent view of an area, supporting quick and effective decision-making if satellite-based timing services are unavailable or cannot be trusted, especially relevant during a conflict.

Andy Fraser Moore, Group Managing Director at Saab UK, said “This trial is a great example of how collaboration can accelerate innovation. By combining quantum timing technology with Saab’s advanced Giraffe 1X radar system, we have demonstrated a practical capability that could help customers continue to operate effectively when it matters most.”